Combined hone and strop.



CHARLES E. OVENSHIRE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

COMBINED HONE AND STROP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1905.

Application filed December 6, 1904. Serial No. 235,656.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. OVENSHIRE, of Minneapolis, Hennepincounty, Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements ina Combined Hone and Strop, of which the following is a specification.

A strop for finishing the edge of small tools, such as knives, andrazors, is usually in the form of a strip of leather or canvas that issecured, preparatory to using, at one end, while the other end is heldin one hand and the razor or knife passed rapidly back and forth overthe surface with the other hand. This method of stropping is effectivein the hands of an experienced person, as the flexible material willyield sufficiently under the pressure of the blade to contact with theedge throughout its entire length and smooth and finish the same; butunless great care is exercised in holding the strop taut it will bendaround the edge of the razor or knife and turn it over and completelyruin it for shaving or other purposes. Then, too, it is frequentlydifficult while travcling to secure one end of the flexible strop insuch a manner that it would be safe to exert a strong pull on the otherend.

The object, therefore, of my invention is to provide a combined hone andstrop possessing all the desirable characteristics of the ordinaryfiexible strop Without its more serious defectnamely, the danger ofturning over the edge of the razor or knife while stropping it.

The invention consists generally in a glass plate havinga ground orroughened surface on one side and a finishing-surface on the other thatis supported by the rigid plate and prevented from bending around theedge of the tool, but capable of yielding sufiiciently to follow theedge and contact with it at all points.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figurel is a plan view of a combined hone and strop embodying my invention.Fig. 2 is an edge view. Fig. 3 is a transverse section.

In the drawings, 2 represents a glass plate of suitable length and widthfor the purpose designed, having a flat ground surface. The

grinding of this surface serves to make it perfectly level, so that theedge of the razor will contact therewith at all points, and at the sametime roughens the surface sufficiently to hold the gritty material, suchas slate, that is mixed with the Water and placed on the surfacepreparatory to the honing operation. I also prefer to grind and flattenthe other side of the glass plate to present a level surface for thefinishing-strop and one that the glue or other adhesive substance usedbetween the plate and strop will adhere to. To prepare the honingsurfacefor use, a little Water is placed thereon and apiece of slate rubbedback and forth over the surface until a sufficient amount has been mixedwith the water to form a paste, which grinds down the edge of the razoror other tool as it is moved back and forth over the hard surface of theglass. On the opposite side of the glass plate I provide afinishing-surface 3, which may be of leather, canvas, or any othersuitable material, and between the surface 3 and the glass I place astrip 4 of yielding material, preferably felt, secured on one side tothe surface of the glass by glue or any other suitable means andsimilarly secured on the other side to the under surface of the leatheror canvas. This felt filling-strip of suitable thickness and resiliencyserves several purposes. It secures the finishing-surface to the glassand at the same time forms a yielding backing for the leather, canvas,or other materialof which the surface is composed, allowing it to yieldor give and follow the edge to be sharpened as it is moved back andforth Without allowing the surface to bend sufficiently to turn over theedge of the tool. Any unevenness in the thickness of thefinishing-surface would interfere considerably with the operation offinishing the edge on the razor and would be very noticeable if thesurface were mounted on a rigid support. By employing the yieldingmaterial between the finishing-surface and the glass the former canyield under the pressure of the razor or knife edge and contact with theedge at all points throughout its length regardless of any slightdifference in the thickness of the material of which thefinishingsurface is composed, and such a surface would have all theessential characteristics of the ordinary strop without some of itsobjectionable features.

I claim as my invention 1. A combined hone and strop comprising a platehaving a flat non-yielding surface on one side and a leatherfinishing-surface on the other side and a strip of felt interposedbetween said leather surface and said plate and In Witness whereof Ihave hereunto set my secured thereto, substantially as described. handthis 2d day of December, 1904:.

2. A razor-hone comprising a rigid plate *1 having one roughened surfaceand having a OHARLEb OVENSHIRE' 5 strip of yielding material secured toits other Witnesses:

surface, with a strip of finishing material se- 7 RICHARD PAUL, curedupon said yielding material. C. MAONAMARA.

